BNP Paribas, France's largest bank, agreed to pay a $8.9 billion fine for transferring billions of dollars on behalf of Sudanese and Iranian clients in violation of U.S. sanctions. From at least 2002 until 2012, BNP hid the names of sanctioned entities in these countries when processing transactions through the U.S. financial system. As part of its guilty plea, BNP will be prohibited from clearing U.S. dollar transactions through certain business units for one year beginning in January 2015. The bank was also required to separate from 13 employees.